The Wayfinder Foundation
The Wayfinder Foundation It has been weeks, perhaps even months since your first interview with Lady ir'Kavay on behalf of the Wayfinders. Yes, membership is by invitation only - but even after such an honor has been extended, the vetting process is rigorous. Only the finest may bear the name of Wayfinder. Other skilled adventurers find a home at the Cliffstop and Deathsgate guilds, but you aspire to rise beyond. Your talents, background, and temperament all show promise, as indicated by the initial invitation you received. Today, your wait is over. You open the letter, sealed and signed by Lady ir'Kavay. It holds confirmation--or perhaps a gutting denial--of your hopes. "Welcome, adventurer. Or should I say, welcome, Wayfinder. You join the ranks of the most prestigous adventurers Khorvaire has to offer." The Foundation. In his youth, Lord Boroman ir’Dayne was a great hunter and explorer. He led the only expedition ever to reach the Frostfell and return to tell the tale. He wrestled ogres in Droaam, fought chuuls in the Shadow Marches, and was the first halfling to travel to Xen’drik and return. Dayne amassed a fortune in his day, but during his final expedition to Xen’drik he contracted a slow, wasting curse that no magic has been able to reverse. He has a few years of life left, and while he no longer has the strength to explore on his own, he still wants to unlock the mysteries of the unknown. To this end, he dedicated his fortune to establishing the Wayfinder Foundation—a guild for adventurers and explorers that funds dangerous expeditions to exotic locales, as well as giving bold adventurers a place to display their trophies and tell tall tales. The Wayfinders are an elite and exclusive organization, membership is by invitation only, extended by one of the Wayfinder Board of Trustees. This exclusivity has served them well. Their reputation is renowned and the exploits of their expeditions are often front page news on The Korranberg Chronicle or other papers around Khorvaire. Some are motivated by glory, others fame, some by intellectual curiosity and a thirst for discovery, some just need to know what is beyond the horizon. From the darkest corners of Khorvaire to the broken lands of Xen'drik, from the frigid wastes of the Frostfell, to hidden lands of Sarlona. The Wayfinders find the way. By Invitation Only. One thing that unites the explorers, scholar adventurers, and undisciplined treasure hunters of the Wayfinder Foundation is that each and every one of them was hand selected and invited by one of the members of the Board of Trustees. While it is true that many of these invitations were made due to political pressure, or personal connections the majority of the Wayfinders are either people who have proven themselves capable and trustworthy, or someone the Foundation sees tremendous potential in. Any Wayfinder may nominate someone for an invitation, ultimately however the only people who can issue an invitation is a member of the board. Wayfinder Holdings. The Wayfinder Foundation Headquarters. A grand four story building standing proud in the heart of Aundair's capitol of Fairhaven. The first two floors of the Foundation Headquarters contain a large museum open to the public. The museum contains replicas of the jungles of Xen'drik as well as the chill endless glaciers of the Frostfell. Artifacts, trophies, and exhibits from Wayfinder Expeditions are often displayed here. Above the museum the Foundation has lecture halls as well as offices for the operation of the foundation, as well as the grand meeting hall where the Board of Trustees meet. The Wayfinder Offices of Sharn. Sharn is the Gateway to Xen'drik, and as such the foundation would be remiss to not have permanent offices in the city. High in the Central Plateau district of Korran-Thriven. Overseen by the young Brelish noblewoman Hendra ir'Kavay the Sharn offices are quickly becoming the launching point for many of the Foundation expeditions, given Sharn's status as a intercontinental trade hub. The Sharn offices have recently expanded to include temporary lodging for Wayfinders between expeditions as well as a well stocked lounge with a breathtaking view of the City of Towers. The Nest. Found within a ruined temple from the Age of Giants in the city of Stormreach, The Nest as it is affectionately known is the Wayfinder's base of operations on the broken continent of Xen'drik. Overseen by Kharva Crack-Tusk, an old shifter who adventured with ir'Dayne when she was younger, The Nest is part museum, part training ground, part archive of all the information and lore the Foundation has discovered about the dark heart of Xen'drik's interior. Important Personalities. Lord Boroman ir'Dayne. (Halfling) Founder, President of the Wayfinder Foundation The founder of the Wayfinders. Even the toughest and most battle hardened veterans of the foundation speak of the halfling in hushed awed tones. His exploits are legendary. Sadly, the mysterious wasting illness that he contracted in Xen'drik has left him a shadow of his former self. So far no magic has been able to cure him, remove the disease, or break the curse. He still hopes that one day a Wayfinder will stumble out of some cursed ruin with the secret to save his life. Shensari Damilek (Human) Director of Relics and Antiquities, Trustee. Not all finds of the Wayfinders end up in museums. If a piece is determined not to be of museum quality or historic significance it will find itself on the auction block overseen by Shensari. In her late thirties, she dresses in black wool robes and wears thick spectacles. Never married, she is passionate about her work but beginning to suspect that life is more than account ledgers and inkpots. In fact, she secretly entertains the notion of accompanying the next Wayfinder Expedition. The Damilek family (one of the wealthiest in Sharn) is very protective of its bookish daughter, though. Her family’s opposition has helped to hold her back. Vikan Buristal (Human) Logistics Director, Trustee Over 6-1/2 feet tall, he is blond with a full beard that conceals hideous stirge scars. His skin is tanned and leathery from a lifetime in the sun. For half an hour before the museum opens each morning, Vikan exercises in the jungle room, swinging from vine to vine and doing pull-ups on branches. Vikan idolizes Lord Boroman. He constantly retells the story of how, on Lord Boroman’s last adventure, the mighty halfling rescued Vikan after he passed out and fell headfirst into a stirge nest. Whenever the diminutive halfling finds the strength to walk the halls of the Conclave headquarters, his towering comrade accompanies him. Dorein Rauthevvit (Human) Chief Financial Officer, Trustee. She sells shares in the Foundation’s expeditions. With the aid of a House Sivis speaking station that she keeps on retainer in her office, Dorein maintains a network of salespeople throughout the Five Nations. She is a thin woman in her early thirties with a habit of interrupting people. Dorein is convinced that her sales expertise is the main reason for the Wayfinder Foundation’s success. Dorein is much better at managing numbers and figures than managing Wayfinders. Giff Rapelje (Gnome) Director of Public Relations, Trustee. Edits the Wayfinder Foundation’s newsletter, the Rope and Piton. Giff is unusually taciturn for a bard and a gnome, and vendors and potential donors attending board meetings or visiting the Conclave often come away with the impression that he has little interest in the Foundation’s real business. Nothing could be further from the truth, though, since Giff delights in tales of mystery and danger. He avidly supports the Foundation’s purpose and, with the possible exception of Lord Boroman himself, is the most willing to take risks and extend the Foundation’s resources in the name of exploration. Imre Levalle (Dwarf) Curator of Acquisitions, Trustee. Imre's position charges him with interpreting, indexing, archiving, and disseminating all the knowledge gained by the Foundation’s members and expeditions. Perhaps the only person in the entire Foundation that knows the details of every operation the Foundation is involved with, including those past and those in the planning stages. There have been rumors that he is willing to sell invitations to the Wayfinder Foundation, but no one has been able to prove it. Imre has recently begun taking anger management classes to cope with the stress of dealing with so many Wayfinders (and his irrepressible boss). He can frequently be spotting squeezing a red stressball and counting while breathing slowly.... Wayfinder Staff Willard Wencove (Gnome) Agency Administrator, Sharn Offices Commonly known around the Sharn office only as "Mr Wencove", Willard is tasked with sourcing, negotiating and administrating contracts for Wayfinder Foundation expeditions. He is a stern man, by nature, and he dedicates more time than he perhaps should in seeing to Wayfinder affairs. He was introduced in Escape from Riedra and has also appeared in Going Rogue. Arello ir'Bordan (Human) Assistant to Vikan Buristal, Wayfinder Headquarters A young man from a minor noble family in Aundair, Arello's greatest skill is his keen eye for detail and his meticulous mind for details when it comes to planning and supplying expeditions. He's quiet and studious, but has experienced significant trauma when he was introduced in Flame in Karrnath, first having been ''charmed ''by a mysterious artifact, then had his hand ripped off by Malazant, an agent of the Lords of Dust. He has since been recovering in Fairhaven, and has had his hand replaced with a warforged prosthetic.